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Installing carpet in a small room is a quick way to brighten the space. Whether you choose a plush pile to accent contemporary furnishings or a subdued Berber-style carpet to match a traditional decor, your Bay Area home will be revitalized by the carpet installation. A small room is particularly easy to carpet, because you don’t need to seam it. Specialized tools that you can rent, such as a knee kicker, also help simplify the installation process.

1

Take everything out of the room. Pull up floor heating vents.

2

Remove the existing flooring, following all local guidelines for disposal. If you suspect the old flooring contains asbestos, hire a professional to remove it. Clean the subfloor with a broom or shop vacuum. Secure any loose nails or screws.

3

Inspect the floor for any uneven spots. Apply flooring compound to uneven floors, as necessary, with a wide-bladed putty knife or drywall knife, following manufacturer’s directions. Allow the flooring compound to dry according to manufacturer's directions.

4

Remove quarter round from the perimeter of the room. Pry it off carefully with a pry bar so you can reattach it later.

5

Measure and cut tackless strips 1/4 to 1/2 inch away from the perimeter of the walls. Do not install them in doorways. Place the strips so the tacks face toward the wall. There shouldn’t be any gaps between strips. Set the strips in place with nails set every 8 to 10 inches.

6

Place padding in the room so that the padding touches but does not cover the tackless strips. Cut padding, as necessary, with a utility knife. Do not overlap padding pieces or leave any gaps. Join seams with duct tape.

7

Measure the length and width of the room. Add 6 inches to each dimension.

8

Unroll the new carpet in another room of the house. Mark the dimensions -- including the 6 inches extra for each dimension -- on the carpet with chalk lines. Cut pile carpet on its back and other carpet from the front, using a straightedge tool to help you cut straight lines.

9

Roll the carpet back up and take it into the small room where you are installing it. Unroll it so there is extra carpet along each wall.

10

Set the knee kicker so that it is 6 inches from and perpendicular to the wall where you plan to start fastening the carpet to the tackless strip. The head of the knee kicker should be closest to the wall. While kneeling, kick the padded end of the knee kicker while you push the carpet toward the wall and the tackless strip. Set the carpet into the nails.

11

Continue setting the carpet into the tackless strip with the knee kicker along that first wall. Set the carpet onto the tackless strip along one adjacent wall as well.

12

Set the knee kicker in the opposite corner from where you started. Place the carpeting in the tackless strips along the wall opposite to the starting wall. When you finish that wall, proceed to set the carpet along the fourth wall.

13

Press the edge of a stair tuck tool in the area between the baseboard and the tack strip along all four walls to create a sharp crease in the carpet.

14

Use a carpet trimmer to cut away excess carpet. Trim any loose threads rather than pulling them. Allow carpet in the doorway to cover half of the threshold before trimming it.

15

Attach a transition piece in the doorway that is appropriate for the flooring in the next room. Follow manufacturer’s instructions for attaching the transition.

16

Vacuum any loose debris from your new carpet. Reattach the quarter round. Move furniture back into the room.

Things You Will Need

Broom

Shop vacuum

Hammer

Screwdriver

Flooring compound

Putty knife or drywall knife

Pry bar

Tape measure

Tackless strips

Padding

Utility knife

Duct tape

Chalk lines

Straightedge tool

Knee kicker

Stair tuck tool

Carpet trimmer

Transition piece

Tip

Tackless strip is a series of small sharp tips protruding from a thin wooden strip. The sharp tips hold the carpet in place.

About the Author

Denise Brown is an education professional who wanted to try something different. Two years and more than 500 articles later, she's enjoying her freelance writing experience for online resources such as Work.com and other online information sites. Brown holds a master's degree in history education from Truman State University.

Photo Credits

Jupiterimages/Pixland/Getty Images

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Brown, Denise. "How to Install Carpet in a Small Room." Home Guides | SF Gate, http://homeguides.sfgate.com/install-carpet-small-room-21412.html. Accessed 24 May 2019.

Brown, Denise. (n.d.). How to Install Carpet in a Small Room. Home Guides | SF Gate. Retrieved from http://homeguides.sfgate.com/install-carpet-small-room-21412.html

Brown, Denise. "How to Install Carpet in a Small Room" accessed May 24, 2019. http://homeguides.sfgate.com/install-carpet-small-room-21412.html

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